Snowflakes fell on the bronzed back, and immediately turned into water, flowing down the gaps between the bulging muscles. The snow and sweat mixed together to form a hazy mist that lingered for a long time.

Holding the ax in both hands, he raised it high, and with a shout, the ax fell, and the firewood as thick as the mouth of the bowl was immediately split into two. He inserted it again, and then lowered the ax again, and the wood was evenly divided again.

Old man Wang was sitting under the eaves, knitting a bamboo dustpan, and looking at Wang Zhu anxiously.

Wang Zhu started chopping firewood after returning home yesterday. Now the stacks of firewood have been stacked neatly from the ground to the eaves. It will be enough for next winter, let alone next winter.

Standing up, Old Man Wang walked to the kitchen on the side, where his wife was sitting on a small bench and plucking chicken feathers. The nine-pound chicken that had been raised for a whole year was originally intended to be eaten during the Chinese New Year, but now it has been eaten.

My wife slaughtered it. In the iron pot on the stove, a large piece of fat was boiling in the water until it was bubbling. The aroma filled the kitchen.

The two grandchildren, who are not yet underage, were scratching the edge of the stove and staring at the pieces of meat in the pot, swallowing their saliva.

Not only these, there are also a lot of food on the square table in the stove room and on the stove. Even during the Chinese New Year, there is nothing so rich.

His wife glanced at him, her eyes were red, and she had obviously cried.

Old man Wang lowered his head, squatted on the ground, and helped his wife pluck the chicken feathers.

"When the eldest brother left, he spent the whole day chopping firewood in the house silently!" My wife whispered with a sob.

Old Man Wang didn't make a sound, but the strength of his hand was obviously heavier, and he even tore off a large piece of chicken with the skin on.

"Can I ask my second brother not to go?" My wife then asked.

Old Man Wang dropped the chicken in annoyance, splashing water all over his body, "It's not like you don't know the tempers of the two sons. Now that they have made a decision, even nine cows can't bring them back. There's no need to say anything.

I said, don’t upset their minds, just do whatever you want. If you can come back, that’s the blessing of my Wang family. If you can’t come back, that’s the fate of my old Wang family!”

My wife suddenly started crying.

A pair of young children in the room were a little at a loss. They came to the old woman one from the left and one from the right. One of them hugged one of her arms and looked timidly at the old man Wang opposite. They thought it was their grandfather who scolded their mother-in-law.

Woolen cloth!

During dinner, several oil lamps were lit in the room for the first time, illuminating the room brightly. On the Eight Immortals table, there were almost no more plates and bowls to put on them. Every bowl of food was so oily that it made people salivate. Wang

Zhu held the wine jar with a smile and filled the wine jars for his father and mother. He also filled the bowls of his niece and nephew with pieces of big fat meat. He also tore off two chicken legs and put them in their bowls.

The two little guys buried their faces in the huge sea bowl and devoured it.

It’s rare to have a meal like this at the beginning of the year!

"Father, mother, eat more!" Wang Zhu did not sit down, but stood beside the two old people, serving the two old people while they ate.

Old Man Wang scratched his neck, drank wine, and ate meat. His wife, on the other hand, burst into tears while eating.

After finally finishing the meal, Wang Zhu went to collect and wash the dishes himself, and just let the two elders sit by the fire pit in the main room to warm themselves up. When Wang Zhu packed everything and came back, the two nephews were

Already fell asleep.

There is nothing to do in the countryside. In order to save lamp oil, I went to bed early at night. I ate too much today and I was already drowsy.

When he walked into the main room, Wang Zhu didn't say anything. He just knelt down beside the two elders, kowtowed three times, then stood up, picked up the knife placed in the corner of the room, turned around and wanted to go out.

"Will you come back?" Old Man Wang's voice was trembling.

"I don't know!" Wang Zhu paused for a moment, "If it works, I will take the two elders to the city to enjoy the blessings and become the old lady. If it doesn't work, that's it. The two elders are still healthy, and the Wang family has children, so there is nothing wrong with it.

worried."

After leaving these words, Wang Zhu strode out of the door.

The two old men rushed to the door, only to see the back of a figure wearing a bamboo hat and raincoat, holding a horizontal knife and striding away.

Bianliang City, Tao Dayong's residence.

"Madam, after this day, if I don't come back, someone will come to arrest you..." Tao Dayong handed the bottle of wine in his hand to his wife, "Then drink it, for your husband's sake..."

By that time, I've probably been waiting for you on Huangquan Road. If you don't see me on Naihe Bridge, be sure to remember where to wait for me."

The woman grabbed the handle of the pot and burst into tears: "Han'er is only eleven years old!"

"As a son of the Tao family, there is no other way to go!" Tao Dayong turned around and glanced at a childish young man waiting outside. Beside him, the young man was wearing a suit of leather armor and a horizontal sword hung on his waist.

"Alan has been married for several years. The water thrown by the married daughter will not be implicated by us. I'm leaving!"

Turn around and stride out.

In the yard, two figures, one big and one small, followed closely.

"Have they determined the final time?" Xia Jie picked up the small red clay kettle nestled by the fire, refilled the tea cup, picked it up, and took a small sip.

"Yes, three days later!" Cui Ang nodded.

"Have you got their specific plan?"

"Got it!" Cui Ang smiled proudly and handed a stack of paper to Xia Jie: "Chief Assistant, this is their rough action plan."

After flipping through the pages roughly, Xia Jie sighed: "His Royal Highness King Jing is indeed a practical person. This plan is really excellent and comprehensive. If we didn't know what he wanted to do and could get it in advance,

, he really has a great chance of success. The name of the person who provided this information is Zhou...what is Zhou?"

"Zhou He! The former staff member of the Xin'an Army who controlled Qin Kuan was also the leader of the Xin'an Army." Cui Ang said with a smile: "This person is the core figure in his plot to rebel this time."

"Why did he betray King Jing?" Xia Jie was a little confused.

"He is also a scholar, and he still has loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness in his heart." Cui Ang said: "This person has read books, and of course he understands things. He knows that following these people will not lead to a future, so naturally he has to plan for himself. This

It’s a minor matter. This person must have done a great job. Please forgive me, Chief Minister. I have already promised to find him a military and state commander when the time comes.”

"It's just a military state, I'll give it to him when the time comes!"

Conspiracy, it can be said that the rebellion of these people was initiated by this person at the very beginning. And when the matter was roughly revealed, this person betrayed these people and used the blood of countless people to achieve his own success.

The thickness of this person is too incredible.

Definitely cannot be reused.

But as the chief assistant, credibility still has to be talked about.

Well, when the time comes to send him to Qianzhou, didn’t Li Fang write a letter saying that Xiao Cheng did a very good job in Qianzhou and brought those Jisuzhous to a state of ecstasy? Many Jisuzhous are about to die.

It is time to implement the reform of the land and return it to the local people. When the time comes, there will naturally be many vacancies. If this guy named Zhou is placed under Xiao Cheng, Xiao Cheng will definitely entertain him well.

By the way, there is also Cui Ang, who needs to be sent away when this matter is over.

King Jing has completely collapsed, and King Chu is very likely to ascend to the throne. This person has surrendered to King Chu a long time ago, and by then the tide will naturally lift all boats. With this person's shameless character, he will definitely be lawless and want to rely on his merits in the future.

He even went so far as to covet his own position and wanted to get him out of Bianliang.

Shaanxi Road is a good location.

Lan Sixin had a miserable life as a pacifier on the Shaanxi Road, because Xiao Ding, the commander-in-chief of the northwest march, did not pay attention to him at all. Cheng De, the prefect of Yan'an, who was hiding in front of Xiao Ding, was more important than Lan Sixin.

Have a face.

Seeing that Lan Sixin is quite respectful to him, he should be allowed to come back as Yushi Zhongcheng when the time comes, or even go to Dongfu. This Cui Ang, let him go to Shaanxi Road to compete with Xiao Ding in the ring.

It would be strange if Xiao Ding, who was born in the Hebei frontier army, did not embarrass Cui Ang.

However, Cui Ang is not a coward like Lan Sixin, and the two of them will definitely have to battle wits and courage. When the time comes, he, the chief assistant, can profit from it and firmly control these two people.

"Okay, you have to monitor the progress of this matter carefully and report to me at any time." Xia Jie put down the teacup in his hand: "I'm going to see the officials. It's time to let the officials know about this matter."

Every winter, Zhao Suo usually stays in the Long Live Palace without moving. Different from other old palaces, the newly built Long Live Palace has all kinds of facilities and the scenery is more beautiful.

It is beautiful and does not make people feel depressing and dull like other palaces.

But this caused the ministers to suffer a little more.

Of course, it doesn't matter to a minister of Xia Jie's level, because he is qualified to ride in a warm sedan and drive straight in. Others can only rely on two legs and brave the cold wind to run between the two mansions and the Long Live Palace.

Coming out of the warm sedan chair and walking on the clean imperial road, looking at the scenery on both sides of the road, Xia Jie felt relaxed and happy. The scenery in the Long Live Palace is really unmatched elsewhere. In order to be able to

It took so much effort and money to transport all these strange rockeries, rocks, and exotic trees to Bianliang!

The current Long Live Palace is truly worthy of being unique in this world.

Xia Jie knew that the officials did not like him.

No emperor would like a strong chief minister who makes his own decisions on everything. Zhao Suo is no exception. More than ten years ago, he drove Xia Jie away. I am afraid he himself would not have imagined that after more than ten years,

Finally, he had to hold his nose and invite this person back to Xuanma to pay homage to the prime minister, because now only this person can calm the situation.

Wait until everything is stable, wait until Ma Xing has established a foothold in Hebei, and then find a way to drive this guy away.

This is what Zhao Suo thought.

Xia Jie also knew it well.

But it doesn't matter to him. There has always been an endless struggle for prime ministerial power and imperial power. More than ten years ago, he lost miserably, but this time it was no longer the case.

In particular, the fact that King Jing is preparing to rebel will inevitably push his power to an unprecedented peak. It will be even more difficult for the officials to drive him away. After all, he does not want anything to happen to his world.

Big problem.

Walking on the road outside the palace, Xia Jie could even think of a series of reactions from the officials after they learned the news.

The facts turned out to be exactly as he expected.

When Zhao Suo heard the undoubted facts from Xia Jie's mouth, his whole face was distorted and he almost jumped up from the soft couch.

He never dreamed that his second son would actually want to fight with him.
To be continued...